Dancer Muriel Maffre Knighted by the French Ministry of Culture
October 23, 2008
Muriel Maffre and Corey Scott-Gilbert. Photo by Marty Sohl.
Muriel Maffre, former principal dancer with the San Francisco Ballet and current guest artist with Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet, has been named Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture. The award will be presented by French General Consul Pierre-François Mourier at a ceremony in San Francisco on Dec. 4. The Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) is an Order of France, established in 1957, by the Ministry of Culture and honors those who have made significant contributions to the arts. Past recipients include Toni Morrison, Jackson Pollock, William Faulkner and Paul Taylor.
Maffre was born in Enghien-les Bains, France, a small village west of Paris, and began her performing career on an outdoor tennis court because her village lacked a theater. At nine, she was accepted to the Paris Opéra Ballet School where she embraced the rigorous training of the celebrated school and the tough work ethic it demanded. As she matured into her teens, her physical frame grew into a lithe, long-limbed Giacometti figure and at 16, she exceeded the school’s height limits and could no longer study at the famed institution.
Unfazed by this potential hindrance to pursue her dance training, she vowed to defy the idea that ballerinas come in standard molds that predetermine the types of roles they dance. She studied at the Conservatoire National de Paris and graduated First Prize, with honors. After graduation, she dance with the Hamburg Ballet, won a gold medal at the first Paris International Dance Competition and became a soloist with Les Ballets de Monte Carlo.
Her insatiable thirst for stimulating environments brought her to San Francisco Ballet in 1990, where she performed roles that challenged both her intellectual dimensions and her physical ones (her height has often challenged her to approach weight, counterbalance and center of gravity in innovative ways). Another attraction to the company was the chance to perform regularly in a large opera house, a far cry from the tennis courts of her early childhood.
“I want to give my deepest thanks to the city of San Francisco and the dance community for influencing my growth as a person, dancer and performing artist,” said Maffre. “This career has been a source of joy and fulfillment for me, and I am honored and grateful to be recognized for it in such a manner.”
Maffre retired from San Francisco Ballet in 2007, but continues to perform as a guest artist. Choreographer Alonzo King created a pas de deux specifically for her which she is currently performing, along with the equally long-limbed Corey Scott-Gilbert, for Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet’s home season in San Francisco.
Alonzo King's LINES Ballet's home season continues through Oct. 26 at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco. Tickets: 415.978.2787, www.yerbabueanaarts.org.
